A Tribute to My Draft Days Buddy

The 2020 NFL Draft was a bittersweet event for me. This season’s draft was impacted by COVID-19, forced onto a virtual event instead of a party in Las Vegas, and represented the first draft in 30 years without my great friend, Ramzi Marrugi. While many things are different, nothing impacted me more personally than to participate in this year’s draft chat without him. Ramzi and I became friends in 1990 when many people didn’t even have a personal computer yet. I came across Ramzi in a Detroit Lions fan group chat where folks were negative and trolling for a fight. I introduced Ramzi to the DetLions email group run by Dave Barstis. From that moment on, Ramzi became a constant in my life.

Over the years in the United States Air Force, I was oftentimes stationed in locations around the globe where I could not watch the live games. Ramzi was always there. He mailed me Lions game tapes (on VHS, for those of us old enough to remember them) and gladly called me no matter where I was to talk Lions. He called me his “good buddy Brent” and later in his life called me his “best friend.” He passed away on September 29, 2019 at the age of 87. The rest of the season was not the same for me. I appreciate his wife, Sue, calling me the Sunday before his passing so Ramzi and I could have one last chat. I still often think of that call.

To give you a little more context, Ramzi was a father, husband, and grandfather to a fantastic and loving group. When they met me, they all treated me like some sort of idol. “Oh”, they said, “so you’re Brent!” Ramzi treated me like a member of his family. What was the attraction that kept us together over all those years was our loyalty to the Detroit Lions. At Ramzi’s Memorial, his grandchildren sobbed as they talked about his love for his family, cooking, and the Detroit Lions. In fact, they placed a Detroit Lions helmet at the altar during the service. They all knew his love for the team and how special our relationship was.

Prior to Ramzi becoming more ill, my wife and I took him to one last game when the Lions battled the Cardinals in Phoenix, Arizona. Ramzi and I both knew this would be his last game. Due to his aging body and need to take things slow, it took us about 45 minutes to make our way into the stadium and about an hour and a half to make it back to the car, after the game. I carefully held his arm up the stairs from our seats behind the Lions bench and soaked the environment up, enjoying every moment as I knew it would be our final event together. Those moments with him still mean everything to me. I am so thankful to Sue and his kids that trusted me enough to escort him to the game that day.

This year’s draft chat, an annual tradition for us crazy Lions fans, was not the same without him.We discussed how special the first two days were, the great picks the Lions made in selecting Jeff Okudah, D’Andre Swift, and Julian Okwara.In the end, I believe my great friend Ramzi is influencing the draft, cheering for the Lions picks, sipping a martini, and talking about our annual “Super Bowl” event.I can honestly tell you Ramzi, it is not the same without you.You are missed my friend.